US:Hillary Rodham Clinton enjoys a clear lead over other Democrats in the presidential stakes but she would lose to Republican John McCain in an election, according to new polls published yesterday. Denis Staunton reports from in Washington
Mrs Clinton remains the most polarising figure considering a run for the presidency in 2008, but she is the first choice for 39 per cent of Democrats - with Barack Obama trailing far behind on 17 per cent, followed by former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards on 12 per cent.
When a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll asked voters to choose between Mr McCain and Mrs Clinton, 50 per cent chose the Republican, compared to 36 per cent who opted for the former first lady.
The latest poll could reinforce fears among some Democrats that Mrs Clinton's negative ratings are, at 40 per cent in the latest poll, too high for her to win a presidential election. The New York senator has been hiring campaign staff in recent weeks in anticipation of an announcement in the new year that she will take the first steps towards running for president.
The latest polls also have bad news for Mr McCain, identifying former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani as the most popular potential Republican candidate.
Despite his liberal views on abortion, gun control and gay rights, Mr Giuliani enjoys even more support than Mr McCain among conservatives.
More troubling for the Arizona senator is the fact that, while Mrs Clinton's image has been improving steadily since she became a senator six years ago, his own has declined over the past nine months.
Among independent voters, Mr McCain's support has dropped 15 percentage points since March, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll.
Mr McCain retains the support of half of independent voters, however, compared to just 32 per cent for Mrs Clinton.
Mr Obama has made a favourable impression on Democrats in a brief space of time but he remains less well known than Mrs Clinton, who emerges as either the first or second choice of 60 per cent of Democrats, compared to 33 per cent for Mr Obama.
Mrs Clinton enjoys significantly higher support among women than men (49 per cent to 29 per cent) and is the choice of more moderate Democrats than liberals. Mr Obama has almost equal support among men and women, but has twice as much support among liberals as among moderates.
Mrs Clinton's sex and Mr Obama's race do not appear to be major liabilities, with only 4 per cent of registered voters saying they would not choose a woman for president and 3 per cent saying they would not vote for an African-American.
Mr McCain's age could be a bigger problem, with 14 per cent saying they would not vote for someone who is 72 years old, which the Republican senator will be on election day in 2008.